Sage Gateshead's New Name is Revealed

Sage Gateshead’s new name has been hot topic since the charity revealed the decision for the change last year, which started when it was announced that an arena and conference centre would be built next door and would be called The Sage. While suggestions such as The Slug and The Armadillo (referencing the iconic building’s shape, designed by renowned architects Foster + Partners) were crossed out, music lovers had their input on the decision online and within the building itself. 

Hundreds of visitors shared memories of hearing and learning music at Sage Gateshead and what this meant to them – and the centre’s new identity was created with Manchester-based design team Music with conversations with music-lovers from across the North East.

Drum-roll please. Sage Gateshead has been renamed… The Glasshouse.

Its full title is The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, and it remains a home for live music lovers.

Quite fitting really, considering the centre has 630 panes of glass, and it helps music and musicians grow. A new marque celebrates the centre’s bold architecture which people said ‘was as much a symbol of home as the Tyne Bridge’. Out of this has emerged a visual language that combines the joy of music and iconic status of the charity’s home at Gateshead Quays.

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‘We’re 19, so there’s a generation of young people who have grown up with us and as we make this shift and start our new chapter we wanted to send a signal to tell the next generation that we’re here,’ says Abigail. ‘It’s a modest thing, it’s not enormous but it’s about encouraging the next generation of music lovers and musicians and above all saying that everyone should have access to music and the arts and culture. This small thing will enable that.

‘We hope we can serve the whole of the region with amazing gigs, bringing artists here who might otherwise not come to our region. Having the region’s orchestra [Royal Northern Sinfonia] working from our building and touring from here is key in that. Hopefully that’s something people will want to connect with but it’s also a place that shares the identity of the North East with the wider world. It’s in all of our pictures and it’s certainly become iconic.’

The Glasshouse will celebrate 20 years next year. Every year it welcomes more than two million visitors, and more than 1.7m young people have learnt to play, sing or produce with the music centre. ‘So many people have enjoyed a great gig here – 4.7 million tickets have been sold in that time,’ says Abigail. ‘Young people and adults have enjoyed over 2,000 classes and the orchestra (Royal Northern Sinfonia) has been flying our flag around the world. There’s a set of artists and musicians who have come through, starting out with a small gig on the Concourse Stage and gone through our larger spaces and are now selling out arenas.

‘All of that has happened over the last 19 years and I guess what we’ve found is that everyone has their own story about our charity and what it’s meant to them. That might be about people they’ve met, something they’ve learned, refuge or social connection. We’ve heard and continue to hear individual stories which all stack up to summarise what’s happened in that 19 years.’

As a cultural charity The Glasshouse is reliant on individuals, companies and trusts to help make their work happen. To find out how to support them, and how they can support you, visit sagegateshead.com.